ICC Test Rankings: Jasprit Bumrah 1st Indian Pacer To Be No. 1; Whom Did He Surpass?

Mumbai: Fresh from his exploits in the second Test against England at Visakhapatnam, Jasprit Bumrah has climbed the summit of ICC Test rankings among bowlers.

Bumrah, whose 9-wicket match haul forced adjudicators to give him the Man-of-the-Match award ahead of double-centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal two days ago, thus became the first Indian pacer to be ranked No. 1.

He moved up from fourth to the top in the latest rankings list, replacing teammate and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

Bumrah’s previous best ranking was No. 3.

At the peak of his powers, Bumrah’s last four Test matches have fetched him 27 wickets – 15 in the opening two matches of the ongoing home series against England and 12 in two preceding Tests in South Africa.

Bumrah will feel especially proud as he has gone one better than the legendary Kapil Dev.

India’s first World Cup-winning captain was No. 2, on the retrospective Test bowlers’ table, from December 1979 to February 1980.

Like Bumrah’s previous best, left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan had once occupied the No. 3 spot (October-November 2010).

Bumrah became the fastest India pacer to capture 150 Test wickets during his sensational spell of 6/45 in the first innings of the Vizag Test, which India won convincingly to level the series.